Page 40 of Mending Hearts at the Cornish Country Hospital (The Cornish Country Hospital #6)
Callum’s parents had asked to see their son after Zahir had delivered the devastating news of his death.
When Rachael had asked Eden to be the one to accompany them, part of her hadn’t wanted to do it.
Witnessing their pain had been almost unbearable, but an even bigger part of her had seen Rachael’s request as a privilege.
She had wanted Eden with her at the most difficult time of her life, and the very least Eden could do was step up and be there.
Callum’s parents would remember every aspect of this day for the rest of their lives.
The memories would be indescribably painful, but if Eden could do anything to make that even a tiny fraction less awful, she was willing to do whatever it took.
‘Can we stay with him? I don’t want him to be on his own.
’ Rachael looked at Eden, almost twenty minutes after they’d gone into a viewing room to see Callum.
He’d been moved out of resus, because the never-ending stream of patients needing emergency care didn’t stop, not even for the dead.
For the second time that day, Rachael’s eyes pleaded for an answer Eden couldn’t give her.
She wanted to tell Callum’s mother she could spend as much time with her son as she needed, but she knew that even forever wouldn’t be long enough. ‘You can stay with Callum until they let us know what’s happening, I’ll stay here with you, too.’
‘What do you mean what’s happening?’ Rachael’s voice was thick with emotion.
‘Callum will need to be seen by one of the pathologists, so that they can determine his cause of death.’
She’d been careful to avoid the words mortuary or postmortem, but Rachael wasn’t stupid. She knew exactly what Eden meant.
‘A pathologist?’ Her face was a mask of horror. ‘That means they’ll cut him open and…’ She couldn’t finish the sentence, sobs overtaking her body and her husband wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
‘Surely we have to give our permission?’ Callum’s father didn’t need to tell Eden that was never going to happen, for her to know that’s what his response was likely to be. Except they had no say in what happened to their son next, and she was going to have to find a way of telling them that.
‘In the case of a sudden and unexpected death like Callum’s, there needs to be a postmortem to determine the cause and to give you the answers you need.’
‘What we need is for Callum to wake up and open his eyes.’ James shot her a look that could have melted ice, but Eden knew it wasn’t personal.
‘I know that right now nothing feels as if it will make a difference, but understanding why and how Callum died could do in the future. It might also mean that it changes the outcome for other people too.’
‘I don’t give a shit about the outcome for anyone else!
We still won’t have our son. There are waste-of-space arseholes out on the street, who spend their whole lives hurting other people, walking around without a care in the world and our son is lying here dead.
’ James’s anger was tangible, and Eden wanted to tell him he was right, that there should be some kind of natural justice, but the world didn’t work like that.
If life was fair, Callum would be sitting at home with them now, regaling his father with a story about how he’d scored the winning try, his mother looking on proudly, having witnessed it all.
Instead they were side by side, an air of unbearable sadness enveloping the whole room as they stood beside their beloved son’s lifeless body.
‘Callum would have cared. He’d have wanted something good to come out of this, he’d want to change things for other people.
’ Tears were still running down Rachael’s face, but her words were filled with tenderness.
Her crying seemed to ramp up again as she turned towards Eden.
‘I just can’t bear the thought of our beautiful boy being cut up, like a piece of meat. ’
‘It isn’t like that, I promise you the pathologist will look after Callum and care for him every step of the way.’ An image of Drew came into Eden’s mind, and she knew without a doubt she could make that promise.
‘I can’t stand the thought of him being in the mortuary all by himself either.’ Rachael swayed, and for a moment Eden was worried she might faint. She probably would have done if James hadn’t been there to hold her up.
‘Do you think it would help if you spoke to the pathologist first? He’ll be able to reassure you that Callum will be looked after exactly the way you’d want him to be if you were there with him.’
‘Would they do that?’ It was James who answered, the look of surprise on his face overriding the expression of devastation for just a second or two, before the pain took over again.
‘I know one of the pathologists who definitely would.’ Eden was certain Drew would be willing to help Rachael and James in whatever way he could.
‘I think I might be able to cope with it a bit better if I knew who was going to be…’ Rachael’s face crumpled, the words too much for her to say out loud, and James drew her towards him.
‘I’ll go and speak to one of the team, and I’ll ask that Callum isn’t moved until you’ve had a chance to discuss it.’ Eden rested a hand on Rachael’s shoulder, knowing she’d fight tooth and nail to make sure things weren’t made any more difficult for Callum’s parents than they already were.
* * *
‘I’m so glad you managed to get away.’ Eden had called Drew to see if he was at work and available to talk. When he’d said he could make himself free in fifteen minutes, she’d asked him to meet her at the entrance to the hospital.
‘I told you I would.’ He made it sound so simple, but his response made her smile through the tears that had been threatening to start again. She loved the fact that if he promised to do something he’d follow through with it.
‘Thank you for coming, I know I probably wasn’t making a lot of sense when I called.’
‘I think I got the gist of it.’ Drew took hold of her hand and it was the weirdest sensation.
Like a jolt of electricity passing through her body, at the same time as making her feel safer than she had before he’d taken her hand.
She’d experienced that frisson of excitement before, but never quite so strongly, and certainly never at the same time as the certainty that she could put her complete trust in the other person.
Drew let go of a long breath. ‘From what you said you lost a young patient and his parents are understandably devastated, but the thought of him having to undergo a postmortem is making that even worse and you’d like me to reassure them about the process. Is that right?’
‘That’s exactly it.’ Eden didn’t want him to let go of her hand, but she knew he was going to. ‘Is that something you can do?’
‘Of course. When do they want to meet?’
‘Would you be able to do it now? I don’t think Rachael will be able to leave Callum until she can be sure he’ll be taken care of.
’ Eden swallowed against the lump in her throat that felt as if it might choke her.
How could Rachael ever be expected to walk away and leave her son behind?
Eden was certain she wouldn’t be able to do it, and even the thought made it hard for her to catch her breath.
‘I’ve got some reports to write up, but I can do them later. This is far more important.’ Drew’s hand brushed against hers again, and she had to fight the urge to curl her fingers around his. It would have been inappropriate and unprofessional, but that didn’t stop her wishing she could.
The walk back to the viewing room, where Callum’s parents were waiting, passed in silence, but it wasn’t the uncomfortable kind.
It felt as if there was an unspoken understanding between them that needed no words.
The hospital chaplain had arrived just as Eden was leaving to meet Drew, and she’d asked Isla to arrange for another one of the team to wait outside the viewing room, in case the chaplain had to leave before she got back.
It was the protocol they had to follow, with an unexplained and unexpected death, and hospital policy meant they couldn’t leave Callum alone with his parents.
It seemed completely ridiculous as if anyone looking at Rachael and James could possibly imagine they might have had something to do with their son’s death, but as far as the law was concerned nothing could be ruled out completely until the postmortem was over and an official cause of death had been determined.
Isla, whose shift had been due to end when Eden had spoken to her, had obviously decided to undertake the task of staying with Callum’s parents herself.
It was a mark of the kind of person she was and Eden felt lucky that she had so many colleagues who shared her values, especially on days like today.
‘Thank you so much for staying on, but I can take over now.’ Eden hugged Isla, whispering the words in her ear.
They’d all been affected by the events of the day, and Isla’s body seemed to sag with relief at the prospect of getting off home.
Cases like Callum’s always made the staff count their blessings and forget about all the stupid minor niggles and inconveniences of life, at least for a little while.
Isla would be hugging the people she loved all the tighter when she next got the chance, and it was exactly what Eden would be doing too, once she was reunited with Teddie.